Rare Quran Page Fetches $500,000 at Christie’s Auction
According to Egypt’s Yam al-Sabi newspaper, the page contains verses of Surah Al Imran, the third Surah (chapter) of the Holy Quran.
The distinctive artefact features gold calligraphy on blue vellum and was "undertaken in the 9th century, most probably in Tunisia for a patron of considerable wealth and ambition”, said the firm that put the it up for bidding in London.
Earlier, Sara Plumbly, head of the Islamic Department at Christie’s, said that the piece was from "some of the earliest Qurans — from some of the most important private manuscripts”.
According to research, the inventory of the library of the Great Mosque of Qairawan mentions manuscripts copied in gold on black-blue-dyed vellum. It is not totally clear if the inventory mentions one or two examples as it suffered some damage.
"In most probability, there are mentions of two manuscripts, of which one is described as in seven sections, in the large format, written in gold, in Kufic script, on blue-black vellum. This description sounds temptingly close to the page which will be offered for auction.”
Over the course of the last century, the provenance of this now iconic manuscript has been much debated, said the firm.
"The use of the indigo blue-dyed vellum was intended to mimic the purple-stained luxury of Imperial Byzantine manuscripts, whilst the dyeing of vellum was probably current in the Islamic period in the 9th and 10th century (when) there was no longer any direct access to the murex dye needed to produce the purple color. As a result, Indigo imported from India was substituted.”
